In a conventional sheet material cutting device, which is provided in a printer, a printed sheet material is cut in a transverse direction perpendicular to the feed direction of the sheet material while it is being conveyed. In such a sheet material cutting device, the sheet material is cut in a transverse direction perpendicular to the feed direction thereof by the engagement between a rotatable blade and a fixed blade located opposite the rotatable blade. The rotatable blade may include a blade unit provided on the outer circumference of a rotary shaft, the blade unit defining a predetermined angle relative to an axial direction of the rotary shaft while extending from one end of the rotary shaft to the other end thereof. In such a rotatable blade, the outer circumference (hereinafter, referred to as “forward shaft surface”) of the rotary shaft, which is defined in the direction in front of the blade unit as it rotates along the rotary shaft, also serves as a guide portion which feeds the sheet material toward the fixed blade in response to rotation of the rotary shaft. For this purpose, the forward shaft surface is formed in a circular arc shape along the rotational direction of the rotary shaft.
The forward shaft surface of the rotatable blade functions to press downward on a rear edge of the sheet material cut by the rotation of the rotatable blade. A conventional printer includes a conveying mechanism disposed in the downstream side of the sheet material cutting device to convey the sheet material in a state of being interposed therein. The cut sheet material is withdrawn and discharged to the outside by the conveying mechanism arranged in the downstream side of the cutting device.
However, the printer may have a complicated configuration due to the arrangement of the conveying mechanism in the downstream side of the sheet material cutting device. Particularly, a sheet discharge portion protrudes outward from the printer, which leads to an increase in an outer shape of the printer. For this reason, miniaturization of the printer is increasingly contemplated by arranging the conveying mechanism for withdrawing the cut sheet material in a position other than the downstream side of the sheet material cutting device.
This sheet material cutting device entails a problem in that when the leading edge of the cut sheet material is pressed downward by the forward shaft surface of the rotatable blade, it is bent downward and deformed, which frequently prevents the cut sheet material from being smoothly discharged to the outside. That is, the leading edge of the cut sheet material is suspended within the device, which contributes to the blockage of discharge or paper jam. In addition, if a user attempts to pull out the suspended leading edge portion of the cut sheet material which is caught between component parts within the device, the sheet material may be damaged.